Friday, September 29, 2006

TGIF & Much Much More....

It's Friday. Por fin! I have had a long and exauhsting week. Got a bit overwhelmed but I am now on the rebound. The good news is I now have a weekend/weeknight job at Linens & Things.... (un hiper con cosas para la casa). Which I start tomorrow afternoon.

So... now here is the final working schedule....
Morning Spanish, Afternoon Spanish, Middle School Para and Linens & Things.

I am going to busy. Working on average more than 50 hrs a week.... and I forgot to mention that I have grad school on Tues and Thurs nights and an online class.

I have been drinking a lot of coffee. Too much infact. I get cramps/Charlie Horses in my legs almost every night around 4am. They take a long time to go away. I usually have to walk around. Maybe I have RLS... Restless leg syndrome... too bad this chica cannot go to a dr.

To get to the fun stuff.....
Since I am going to be tired of working and studying and everything I was pricing tickets to the DR (RD). Though I have a break in most of my jobs, except the reatil one from Dec. 21 to Jan 1.... I could not find anything affordale.... no way in hell am I paying more than $1000 to fly to the Caribbean. So.... I checked some dates and I purchased a ticket today... it is FINALIZED... I will be in Santo Domingo... from Jan 26 to Feb. 4.....!!! Yay!!! That is still 4 long months away... but at least I have something to look forward to.

It is also payday at two of my jobs today... money can always brighten my day!!

That's it for now... not much work today... as almost all the kids are on a field trip and I was the one that had to stay behind and supervise the kids that did not go. I am reading some Neruda... and busy being bored.

Chau! Besos! Paz!

Felicidades Betti!!!!!

Viste Bettina?!??! Yo sabia... ahora tengo una amiga licenciada!!! Que suerte. Y un dia antes de cumplir.

Felicidades nena... y ahora q te festejas TODO.

Feliz Cumpleaños tambien.


Saludos, Besos y Abrazos....

jcg

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Bettina!! Suerte y Feliz Cumple....

Betti........... hice un blog para ti.... en tu honor!!

Sos una amiga re querida. Te quiero mucho. Y te mando muchisimo suerte este jueves. Estes en mis pensamientos. Se q te vas a salir bien!

Y Viernes..... FELIZ CUMPLE VIEJA!!! ;) Que todos tus deseos cumplen. Y toma una daiquiri para mi.











Happy Hump Day!

It's hump day folks... that means it is Wednesday... the middle of the 5 day work week. Which means I only have 3 more days of work and then rest. This weekend I am going to go to coffee hour at the Resource Center of the Americas and I think I will go out dancing with a friend. Beside that nothing... except working on lesson plans and my studies. I do not have a weekend job yet... so I will get to sleep in past 6am and do a lot of nothing.... I can't wait.

Unit then... Feliz Hump Day!

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Coffee and an Uplifting Int'l Phone Call

I must say that coffee makes life so much better. It really does. When things look bleak and I'm feelin' down or tired I order me up a cafe mediano at Caribou or Starbucks... drink it down and I'm back and ready to take on the world.

After a phone call I'm contemplating a trip to a certain Caribbean country sooner than I was planning... which makes me happy just thinking about it. Now I just have to locate a affordable way to arrive there and things might actually work out. Learned some new news... a little sad but if things are meant to be... they will all work out with time.

Hasta la Proxima.... PAZ!

I hate the morning

Odio la mañana. Actually, I don't hate it... I just hate waking up early. If I have to get up at 6am or before, things get rough. I usually fall asleep in the shower. I warn people never talk to me until I have been up at least one and a half hours or have had several cups of coffee. Or else I am mean. I also tend to be really confused in the morning.
Now go ahead two hours... say 8am... and I really have no problem I actually have problems trying to sleep later than 8am.

So, today I had to wake-up at 6am, not a happy hour and now I am off to teach español to seven years olds... KILL ME NOW!! JK.

Chau!

Monday, September 25, 2006

100 Things/Cien Cosas

100) I love big earrings
99) Hablo español (y castellano argentino)
98) I don’t like touching or using a pencil
97) I am afraid of rabbits
96) I do not want to live in the US when I grown up… aka NOW
95) I like to wear pretty shoes even if they hurt my feet
94) I have MAJOR stomach problems… :[
93) I love working with kids… ideally those in middle school
92) I get road rage… OFTEN
91) I would prefer to live in a city with a subway system
90) Driving at night drives me crazy
89) I like reality TV
88) I own a lot of books that I have never read
87) I don’t like purchasing previously owned goods… clothes, furniture, books, YUCK!!
86) I love coffee
85) I don’t drink alcohol very often
84) Commitment scares me
83) I’m very picky when it comes to men…. Donde esta my Mulatto-Jewish-Multilingual-Educated-Stable-No-Kids-Man when I need him?
82) I am often addicted to one food at a time, i.e. pickles, carrots, eggs, etc.
81) I like to sing when I’m alone in my car
80) I need a new laptop
79) I like the color black
78) I also like the color blue
77) I enjoy making mosaic creations
76) I dream of one day having a personal home library
75) I plan to host exchange students every year once I have a family and house
74) When I have children, I do not want them to grow up in the USA
73) I like cheese
72) I do not drink Milk
71) I do not eat fish
70) I have eaten bugs on a continuous basis before… even after finding out their source
69) I love warm climates and the ocean
68) I hate cold, dark, snowy winters
67) I love wearing flip-flops
66) I like listening to very loud music
65) I have never been in love
64) I have only cried for one man en mi vida
63) I change my mind a lot
62) I love looking at maps
61) I like taking walks in big citys
60) I like to drive around aimlessly
59) I want to learn to speak Portuguese fluently… agora falou menos q mais
58) I love hardwood and tile floors
57) I don’t like cleaning
56) My best friends live in different countries
55) I only make friends with people older than myself
54) I am interested in learning more about religion though I practice none
53) I am a VERY PROUD DEMOCRAT
52) I know that violence against women is never ok (violencia domestica/familiar)
51) I always sleep with a fan on
50) I sleep with minimum 4 pillows
49) I swam competitively for more than 10 years
48) I was also on the varsity synchronized swimming team in high school
47) I have never dated a native English speaker
46) I am very independent
45) I wish to some day take a trip from Mexico City to Panama City, hitting every country on the way
44) I hate cats
43) I don’t like little dogs that bark a lot
42) I make decisions without thinking things thru. quite often
41) I am working on fixing that
40) I am fascinated by poverty and resilience
39) I would prefer to travel in a third world country than the first world one
38) I do not like museums
37) I like meeting new people
36) I’m quiet and shy when I first meet people
35) I sometime talk way too much
34) I need to be alone sometimes
33) I read my horoscope almost every day
32) I am an Aquarius… which can be used to describe my thought process, every thing I do and my personal characteristics
31) I think I was a fish in a past life
30) I have two tattoos
29) I feel that it is necessary to give back to the community, with your time
28) Sometimes I see things before they happen
27) I love traveling
26) I believe I can learn a lesson from everyone and everything that happens in my life
25) I will not work the ‘man’… i.e. corporate America
24) I like to have a tan… always
23) I rarely listen to music in English
22) Some of the people who influenced my life the most are no longer close to me, though they are still living
21) I do not like old people
20) I like to look at the stars
19) I look at people for who they are not what they do
18) I am good at keeping in touch with people
17) Liberation Theology fascinates me
16) I hope to have finish and receive two masters degrees in my life
15) Stars are my favorite shape
14) I like spicy food
13) I don’t like blondes or blue-eyed people
12) My feet smell
11) I have really small hands
10) I cannot stop thinking about someone I met this past summer
9) I dream of living in the Dominican Republic for many years
8) I like to gossip
7) I watch and read the news daily
6) Republicans scare me
5) I believe that every person can make a difference in this world
4) I often think about how unjust this world is
3) I have many dreams
2) People often trust me and tell me personal things about them that I really do not want to know
1) I am a very true and loyal friend

Sunday, September 24, 2006

Para Mi Publico Hispanohablante...

Supuestamente unos amigos Argentinos y Dominicanos están leyendo mi blog... entonces tengo q escribir algo en Español (o Castellano... no discrimino).
No hay nada pasando en la vida.... bueno.... nada interesante...
Trabajo mucho... y con la locura q tengo estoy buscando mas trabajos. Ahora por la mañana y por la tarde enseno español a chicos de la primaria. Estoy muy nerviosa como q no tengo experiencia con este edad. Los niñitos son linditos. Tienen mucho energía y me vuelven casi loca. Entre mis clases de español trabajo en el mismo colegio q el año (escolar) pasado. Estoy trabajando con chicos con autismo... y no me gusta el puesto mucho... pero tengo q trabajar. Tengo este trabajar hasta el 25 de enero.
Ahora estoy buscando un trabajo para las noches cuando no tengo clase Y los fin de semanas. Este no va a ser un puesto lindo... sera un cajero o algo en una tienda o hiper grande. Pero... bueno... es algo, no?!?

Mi amiga Lena y yo estamos pensando tomar un clase de baile... de bachata o salsa... son los únicos q hay.

No voy a volver a República Dominicana tan rápido como pensé. Decidí tomar mis clases acá en vez de por internet y trabajar mucho. Voy a tratar ahorrar dinero... y tendré q tomar vacaciones en algún parte del invierno... si, no voy a estar muy triste.... porq: nieve, frió, viento y oscuridad = Srta. Gerber infeliz

Bueno... mando saludos a todos y espero q estén bien y la vida, tus estudios, trabajos y familias también anden bien.

CHAUCITO! BESOS! SUERTE! PAZ!

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Viva Hugo Chavez!

Querido Presidente Chavez:

Quiero decirte gracias por sus palabras de hoy en las Naciones Unidas... alguien tenía que decir la verdad.

Sinceramente,
Srta. Gerber


English

Español

Que Será Será de Srta Gerber??

Sup my peoples?

Ok... so, things are working out... I have 3 jobs at the moment and will find a weekend job soon.

I am working at the same middle school as last year... I've been roped in as a long term substitute until January 25, 2007. Before and after school I am teaching Spanish to elementary school kids (ages 7-11). It is interesting and challenging... but we will have fun.

Now... a weekend job and I will be set... I think. This chica needs to save money and buy some property on a caribbean island :) and get a new laptop as this one is going on 5 and a half years and is near death.

Ok... updates to come.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Brazil: A Spanish Speaking Country?

Um... so, last night the popular TV series on CBS, CSI:Miami had its season premier. I usually watch the show and was very interested as the show was supposedly taking place in Brazil. Well, during the course of the show they mentioned a favela and saudades.... both words in Portuguese but the rest of the time the actors on the show where saying random bits in Spanish. Yes. Apparently they speak Spanish in Brazil! Nice, right? Leave it to network television to make my country's people more stupid and use huge gross inaccuracies in a primetime show. Que bem!... I mean... Que bien!

Monday, September 18, 2006

Close Your Eyes & Make a Wish

I applied for a .75 Spanish teaching position at a Charter High School in Minneapolis yesterday. They already called me this morning and I am now waiting for the director to call back again. She sounded like she was interested in me. I really really really want the jobs. So, cross your fingers, wish and pray for me.... Srta. Gerber needs a new pair of shoes and a whole lot more. ;)

Lo que necesito son pensamientos buenas y suerte!!

Besos.

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Thoughts.

My mind cannot stop racing lately… I want to do many things… NOW. I cannot wait. That has never been a personality trait of mine. Patience. I think it has to do with fear. Fear that if I do not do what I want to do right now… I might not be able to do it in the future. Fear that I will loose what I think I might be able to have.
I am fighting demons… fighting demons since age 17. When I knew in my mind that I could not grow continue on and grow old as my parents and grandparents have…. In a white, suburban, unhappy, materialistic way. It doesn’t interest me. Things. Sure, things are nice. I love my laptop, my iPod, my car, all of my things and I have of lot of them. BUT do they make me happy? Do they make me a better person? Will they complete my life? No. Hell NO! It is just a filler. And I refuse to live like this.
What I want is to live in a place where the people are genuine. Where there is visible poverty, but the people can survive day to day and just be. Just be happy. Just be happy to be alive and live one more day.
A life like this is what attracts me. What is ironic is those in this life… the one I describe often envy the life I have. The materialistic, first world, white, middle class, getting every thing I want life.
How do I know what I want? Well, in the past twenty-three years I have paid attention to what I like and what I don’t. It is not like me to deny myself. I have traveled. Talked to people. Seen the world. Lived in poverty. And realized that my future does not belong in a country whose initials are USA but in a different country… At the moment I think the Dominican Republic… at least I’d like to give it a shot. What can I lose?
This leads me to another dilemma… leaving the America, expected status quo behind and doing what I know will be right in my life. For me. I am old enough now the realize that first and foremost I must care about myself, my thoughts, by physical and mental health and my sanity. I cannot and will not work in corporate America in the cubical ghetto for the next 50 years just to have things. To have things but horrible relationships or no relationships with family or friends, to be unhappy and dwell in the things that I was never able to do. I will not do that. I will do what I want and I will not let others try to persuade me to the dark side.

Confusing I know… that thoughts that run thru my head… Sometimes I need to vent. Being an Aquarius is sometimes and curse and blessing at the same time.

Paz.